Fire Style: Perpetual Clockwork
by cottonspore
Summary: Today wasn't a bad day. Well, it sorta was.. But not the beginning part, anyways. Here, let me explain it, but you'll see what I mean once you catch my drift. And even if today wasn't all that, there's always tomorrow, right? Tomorrow is always different.


**A/N:** I really needed to have my KibaHina fix and so i had to write it myself u ' This was supposed to be waaay shorter and a little different, but i think it turned out okie for what it is.

I honestly haven't been up to date in Naruto for soooooo long, like, after some parts in Shippuden, everything gets a little blurry. So this is definitely before the series finished and before most of the canon relationships.

I wrote this to have some fun, so hopefully y'all can too c:

[fyi - this is read from Kiba's perspective]

* * *

Today wasn't a bad day.

Well, it sorta was..

But not the beginning part, anyways.

Here, let me explain it, but you'll see what I mean once you catch my drift.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

It was a Tuesday afternoon and the village had the scent of good ol' spicy chicken ramen and the grand smell of the one and only Inuzuka musk wafting around in the air. I hadn't long gotten out of bed, er, left the house, when I decided to see what was shakin' around the village.

The past couple of months had been crazy with all this talk of war and imposter allies and shit, so today, I dunno, just seems nice to bask in the peace, even if it's just temporary.

And that has been the name of the game in another way, too.

The game of love.

I mean, just thinking about it is nauseating…but nice?

Like, with how I feel about her, it's soooo nice, but knowing how she feels…is nauseating?

Grrr, I don't mean to be so conflicted with how I feel, and even when talking to Shino, his weird way of talking actually made sense. We were talking about the peaceful times the village is having and he said something along the lines that "We _all will ebb and flow. Like the life of an insect, everything has its cycle"_.

I can do without the bug analogies, but I think he had a point. In his weird Shino way.

* * *

Lately, I find myself making the rounds to my new favorite spots around the village. And it wouldn't be a legitimate Inuzuka spot without me marking it so.

…

…what? It's the first pee of the day and I share house with two women. The bathroom is always barred so I gotta make do where I can make do!

AND SO ANYWAYS, that spot happens to be at the giant tree across from that floral arrangement place.

It's the weirdest thing, cause I can smell her so well over there, like I know she walked by that flower shop no longer than 2 minutes ago. And I'd be damned if she didn't. It wouldn't be so hard to believe since she smells like that one flower that compliments her eyes and hair so well – an iris or something like that.

But of course, that reeking smell of Uchiha always permeate the air when those shrieking banshees start to go at it. Why the hell would they work at the same place when they know they're only going to give the whole village a major headache with all the back and forth?!

"Your attention span is as long as a literal sakura - why would you try to propagate ume with the asagao?! Two different flower groupings and types with two different UNCOMPLIMENTARY meanings!" Ino had already crossed her arms, which pretty much meant that she was not backing down without laying the SMACK down.

Sakura rolled her eyes and continued to pat down some twig-like plant into a mound of dirt with some viney shit blooming all over the place. She looked unfazed and then smirked instead. "We're out of the cosmos since I was considerate enough to remember how much Sasuke liked them." Sakura was slightly hunched over while tending to her planting until she finally straightened herself up. But because these two can't do anything without being petty, Sakura overexaggerated the amount of sweat that was on that billboard brow of hers and flung whatever clumps of mud still clinging to her fingers onto Ino.

Ino was not having it, and she finally got the fight she was picking after, but I couldn't stick around. Its one thing if its hot chicks fighting one another, but it's completely different when it's those two. And I'm not just saying that to be mean.

Okay, take into consideration that out of the 4 main teams that are actually significant, out of the 12 of us, there's only 4 girls. So there's already slim pickings to begin with. And I _honestly_ tried to like those two. Ino is supposed to be this hottie with a nice body, but her personality is so mangy. Sakura _would_ be cute, or at least _decent_ if she didn't keep cutting her hair. And if she was actually attractive. But what can you do?

On that note, I zip it up so I won't be accused of being pervert with my wang just hanging out and follow the scent of that Iris. I know I'm getting closer with every whiff that grows stronger. At this point, the road continues on throughout the village but the scent takes me outside the gates – always leading me to the peaceful sanctuaries that actually make me think twice before hunting down some bacon. But of course, I like to get myself riled up thinking about some bullshit.

Thinking back on those two, its amazing how those two get worked up over someone who not only ignores their existence, but barely exist themselves. Fuck Sasuke, but also fuck Sakura, ya know?

I bring this up because I see Rock Lee out here quite often. More often than not, his rank smell of sweat hits me before I can see him, but man, talk about dedication! Yeah, the guy is a little..very weird, but he's busting his ass out here to be able to meet his standards of her standards. And get this – the same flowers that she gives Sasuke happens to be the same flowers that Lee gives Sakura. It's a mess.

And what burns me up even more is that she also has Naruto chasing after her! It's so funny how someone will have multiple people vying for their attention, only to pursue that one person who doesn't know, or better yet, doesn't _care_ that they exist. Sasuke does it to all the girls, but Sakura in particular. And of course the cycle couldn't go on if Sakura didn't do the same thing to Lee and Naruto. But you know how I said to fuck Sakura? Well fuck that guy even more.

Tracking down that sweet perfume of a flower lead me to a small clearing. To be honest, I didn't even really need to track her scent because she would be out here. She always is. Just watching him.

Fuck that guy.

 ** _Fuck Naruto._**

There he is as usual, playing with his little clones and wind balls again. Tch, even though he has such an expendable amount of chakra, he just wastes it by floundering around with his stupid doppelgangers! And how is it even impressive?! Look, when me and Akamaru do our Twin Beast jutsus, or even when I just make a clone myself, its already like 3 times as powerful than an army of his!

But I guess that doesn't really matter.

I can see it in her eyes that it doesn't.

But maybe like those other suckers for love, if _I_ give it a try, it might just work.

But unlike them, it _will_ work.

All I gotta do is be honest about it, right?

Not that I'm jealous or even TRYING to take pointers from him, but alright, lets see why Naruto is such hot shit according to her – he smiles a lot, has a lot of energy, he encourages her, perseveres when the going gets rough, cares about his friends, and blah blah blah.

I do the exact same. But _better_.

Or at least I thought.

..no..

Or at least I _know._

So what am I afraid of? This will be a piece of cake! – I meet all of the criteria and everything!

The only difference between me and him is that I'm what's _best_ for her.

And that I'm not a piece of shit and what not.

Ha, so here goes nothing!

She's still watching him with hard eyes but a soft spirit. When she's so entranced like that, it's so easy to catch her with her guard down.

 _[Step]_

 _She needs_ _ **me**_ _, not him._

 _[Step]_

 _O-or is it that I need her, and she doesn't need me?_

 _[Step]_

 _What a fuckin' idiot, he'll amount to nothing and I'll sweep her off her feet!_

 _[Step]_

 _M-maybe I'm a fuckin' idiot, and he'll take her away from me.._

I..I couldn't help but freeze up.

But…

…I said it anyways.

"You know I could have easily been one of his clones spying on you because you're too focused on Naaaruuutooo~!"

Immediately she shrieked and sunk down behind the tree she poorly hid herself behind. Naruto also lost his focus and all but 3 of his doppelgangers poofed. They all turned to look in our direction, but thankfully, because of our distance, he probably thought we were some woodland creature.

"K-kiba! He heard us! W-why would you do that?!" Hinata didn't even have to try to muffle her scoldings since she was already out of breath.

I couldn't help but laugh – not only because its fun to mess with her, but because she just makes me happy. Like, everything about her is so genuine. When she blushes, its so damn cute and I know she's really embarrassed, but at the same time, I really know whatever she's blushing at, she cares. Just knowing all of what she's been through, and hell, even the things she tries to hide, she smiles because she's hoping – she has hope and believes in you. A-and when she actually verbalizes what she feels, you know that she trusts you.

"Hahaha, oh no no no, Hinata, he heard _you_. Have you ever heard a stalking dog before? No, because they're quiet. Unlike _you._ "

 _So..when she said…_

 _*sigh*_

"I…I-I actually came close to..telling..him….Kiba, I want to tell him..so _bad_ …"

 _You know she felt it. With all of her soul. With every ounce of that gentle spirit._

"Heh, then let's do it! What's the point in waiting around?! If you watch your prey for too long, it'll get away from ya!"

 _And I felt it, too._

"Kiba! He's not a piece of meat!"

 _Deeply._

"Ha, you could have fooled me from the way you were drooling all over him with your byakugan."

"Hey, whose there!?"

Hinata near fainted at the sound of Naruto's voice so close and nearby where we hid.

"See, now's your chance!..oh huh?!"

Hinata did not waste a second to haul ass outta there, almost leaving me there to answer to Naruto. But again, it wasn't so hard to find her. She always leaves behind a trail of that intoxicating aroma, and to be honest, it's the only scent I could never forget.

Back near the village walls is where I found her, panting and flushed – both from running AND fleeing from a close Naruto-encounter. Making no attempt to cloak my presence, I approach her with a grin and a pat on the back. She didn't glare at me, but instead watched me with pleading eyes. Which meant she wasn't mad at me, but begging for relief. But it's this part I can't quite figure out – relief from my antics or relief from not being able to…

"I'm sorry Hinata, its just that sometimes, you gotta go for it. As much fun as it is to tease you, it's…even more fun being able to see you happy, ya know?" I watched as her face started to flush again. Its kind of weird, cause the amount of heat waxing on her face simultaneously began to burn in my chest. Not the warm and fuzzy kind of burn, either.

Hinata smiled one of those shy but assertive smiles, which always makes me smile, before she spoke. "Kiba, do you think he knows by now?"

Literal heart burn. My heart was being engulfed by her highly flammable but gentle spirit.

"Pfft, he would be an idiot if he didn't by now!"

She wanted to frown at me for calling him an idiot, but it was impossible for her to ever frown about ANYTHING pertaining to Naruto.

"Kiba…"

"Yeah?"

"Tomorrow…tomorrow I'm going to tell him.."

"You've been saying that for months now."

 _Hell, I figured it out._

"W-well, tomorrow, tomorrow for sure!"

 _She needs relief from not being able to confess to him,_

"Hahaha, alright, if you say so. But you know I'll be there to see for myself!

 _And I need relief from catching fire,_

"Kiba, you're the best. Thank you for always being there for me."

 _Time._

"What are friends for?"

 _And time._

"All and everything, leaving nothing in between"

 _And time._

"Exactly. If you're happy, then I'm happy."

 _Again_.

"Thanks, Kiba."

"See ya tomorrow."

Anything for you, Hinata.

* * *

The sun was setting on my thoughts.

I still couldn't understand why I couldn't bring myself to say anything! If I couldn't do that, surely my actions would have spoken a bit louder than words – if I clocked him just right, I'm sure I would have sent that goofy ass fox demon straight outta him along with his cockiness, too. He knows what he's doing when he's out there training. He knows that Hinata fawns over him. He knows he's leading her on!

I just don't get.

But she's happy, and as I've always told her,

" _If you're happy, then I'm happy."_

Yeah.

And I wasn't lying when I said that.

I mean it.

That's how it will always be.

But maybe…always can be a little different sometimes. What if always made it so the reality of _my_ always turned in my favor? Yeah..what if always made it so I could be the alpha dog between me and that chump? What if my always finally proved that I'm right and that I'm the one she needs? What if always meant…that we would be together..always..?

What if…

Always meant that…

If she was happy, then I'm happy…

 _Because we were always?_

 _*sigh*_

Fuck it.

Man, I've had enough of this. I'm calling it a night. Maybe tomorrow I'll just ask Shino what this all means. I'm sure when I tell him about today, he'll probably say something weird about life and bugs. I feel like he's told me the same stuff over and over again, but hey, what's a new day that it will hurt anything? If he was tired of me, he would have started avoiding me months ago.

But what's thing about ebb and flow?

Was it about peace? Time? Pfft, love?

To hell with it all, I'm going home. Tomorrow will be my day, that's for sure.

Tomorrow will be _the_ day.


End file.
